The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA), Ahmed Baffoe, has announced plans to put Ghanaian athletes based in the United States into training camps ahead of the World Athletics Championship scheduled for September.

At the Ghana Athletics Open Championship held at the University of Ghana Stadium last Saturday, Mr Baffoe emphasised the importance of keeping the athletes active during the off-season.

 He noted that the outdoor athletics season in the U.S. concludes in May, leaving a competitive void until the global championship in September.

“We have a little bit of an issue,” Baffoe stated. “Athletes based in the U.S., right after the outdoor competition which ends in May, wouldn’t have competitions until September. So between May and September, what do we do for these athletes? We want to try and put them in training camps.”

He proposed that these athletes be sent to Europe, where numerous athletics competitions take place during the summer to allow them to remain in peak condition.

“There are a lot of competitions coming up in Europe,” he said. “We can also help by putting them in these training camps and competitions so that it would fine-tune their performance. By the time they hit September, they’ll be at top level and perform well. Trust me, if we continue that way, we’ll win laurels at the World Championship in Tokyo.”

Baffoe expressed optimism that more Ghanaian athletes, particularly those based abroad, will qualify for individual events in addition to the relays.

“What we are hoping for is to get more athletes to qualify for the individual races — that is the 100m, 200m, 400m, and even the long-distance events. We hope that the athletes who live abroad are going to improve their performances,” he said.

The GAA boss also pointed out that while Ghana’s relay team has already qualified for the World Championship, there are other strong contenders yet to be seen on the competitive stage.

“Remember that the quartet that qualified for the World Cup are not the only strong sprinters we have. There are others such as Saminu, Azamati, and Botsio who were not able to make it for the competition,” he concluded.